Fall to Pieces
by newstartnow
Summary: Revised.


Disclaimer: Don't own nothing.  
>For the most part, <em>italics<em> represents the character's thoughts.  
>Lyrics thanks to Avril Lavigne's "<em>Fall to Pieces"<em>  
><em><strong>REVISED! <strong>__As of July 2011_

**Fall to Pieces**

_I looked away,  
>Then I look back at you<em>

She couldn't stand this, she wouldn't. She loved him. _Loved_. Forgiveness isn't that easy, especially when it was _her_ heart that was broken. Especially when he _knew_ that he was hurting her. But he, being the arrogant bastard he was, never thought it would take this long. Winning her back was supposed to be the easy part. He made his choice. Aware of the consequences, he left to train with Orochimaru. Sakura would always be waiting for him anyway, he thought.

He didn't care about her, she knew. _'If he remotely liked you, he wouldn't have put you down. You are not weak.' _After Sasuke left, she was finally able to see things logically. Sasuke didn't care about her. Never showed any interest in what she did or said. Didn't even act interested. Mourning the emptiness wouldn't do anything for her. So she trained. Not just to impress him, but also to keep her mind occupied. She trained until she felt the burn, the pain. Sometimes training until the tears began pouring. Once in awhile, his words sunk in. _Worthless_. _Weak_. _Useless_.

So why was she so puzzled? Sasuke was standing on her doorstop. What was she supposed to do? Wasn't the answer obvious? She was a stronger woman, in both spirit and body. So why was her heart doing all the thinking?

Finally, his knocking on the doorframe caught her complete attention. Getting the chance to look him over gave her a sense of… despondency. _There is nothing here for him. He is well aware of that. Especially when he was the one whoe walked out of all our lives. _

Not liking how lost Sakura was in her own head, he remarked,"Sakura? It's me Sasuke, _r-e-m-e-m-b-e-r_?" Stretching out the last word as if she were some two- year old.

"Excuse me?... O-okay. Why don't you come in-" She hesitantly started to say when he pushed by her. _Oiy! Why did I even bother! _Sakura hadn't made any effort to move out of the doorway. She just stood there, shocked and a little unnerved. Being typical Sasuke, he decided to walk right past her, finding himself to her couch.

The man who should have said a lot more, simply let out one of his infamous _hn_'s.

Regaining control of her mind, she sat across from him and avoided any type of eye contact. "Look, I have nothing to say to you. Just hurry up and say whatever it is you want. I have better things to do than talk to the man who purposely broke my heart and never had the nerve to apologize." She desperately wanted to talk to him, but she knew she'd lose it if they did. She worked too hard to lose it all now. She wasn't about to let him break her again.

"…Sakura, I'm only going to say this once."

Moving closer to Sakura, he turned to face her. He was close enough to look looked her directly in the eyes. He saw it all at once: the anger, fear, shock, and … love. _'How could she_ still_ love, let alone care, about me?_' he thought.

Feeling more than uncomfortable, Sakura tried to break the nerve wrecking silence.

"Sasuke, how was your awfully long trip to Sound? I hope Orochimaru hasn't completely taken away your innocence! Well, anyway... would you like something to drink?" Getting ready to go to the kitchen, he grabs her wrist. She wouldn't get away. He had only this one chance.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I broke your heart. I told you, Naruto, Kakashi, and everyone, I'm just not like you guys. I never was and never will be. I was born to be someone else. You don't have to like it, but dammit, Sakura, look at me!"

He grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eyes.

"Don't lie, you still love me. Just forgive me." His voice was too much for her.

She was crying and couldn't stop. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. When he came back, she always planned to prove herself. Crying ruined it all. All those late nights training, the scars, the blood. In a split second, he destroyed her again_. __No, I will show him that I __**did**__ get tougher, while he was off breaking my heart_.

Sakura finally fell to the floor, gasping for air. Sasuke bent down, holding out a tissue, which she gingerly accepted. As he waited for her response, she screamed.

"Why the **hell** did you come back, Sasuke? Come back to prove that you got stronger, or that you killed your brother and Orochimaru? Or was it to break some more hearts? Which one, _Uchiha_?" she said bitterly. He never imagined her saying his name with such loathing. She couldn't believe what he said to her. She _wouldn't _it. He was _too_ gentle for her to believe it.

"…Sakura-" he began, just as she punched him.  
>"What the hell do you want!" she screamed, crying again.<p>

"…" He decided to wait to say something.

"Sasuke, you clearly don't understand anything! I loved- no wait, LOVE you. And I fucking hate myself for crying over someone who doesn't love me at all." Still tears coming down, but at least she wasn't sobbing. Walking over to her couch and taking a deep breath, she noted, "You're welcome to leave any time now, believe me – if you leave again, I won't mind."

"… It really does hurt to know I did all of this to you…"

"Ha! Really, Sasuke? Because I really doubt that! If you fucking hurt then why did you leave? And why the hell are you back here? Not only did you put me through Hell, but what about Naruto or Kakashi? What about the whole fucking village? Tell me, Uchiha, why are worthy of us to care again? Why should I even believe you fucking care?"

She was right. He couldn't believe how long it took to realize this. He put everyone through hell and caused such havoc. Especially for Sakura. _Sigh_. Why didn't he think about he ones who cared for him?

"…I am truly sorry about leaving… Really, I am…"

Having nothing else to say, they basked in their own raw emotions.

"Please, say something, anything. Please…?" Sasuke didn't want to say it, but everything else was already said and done.

"There is a reason as to why I came back to Konoha…" He uttered silently, in almost a whisper.

Sakura looked at him. Why did he come back?

For the first time all night, their eyes locked.

"…I love you. This is the absolute worst time to tell you. You probably don't even want hear that from me. But don't get over me, don't try to. Don't move on. Don't push me away. Don't move, don't-"

Her lips crashed onto his, stopping the words. Total shocked at first, but he kissed her back regardless. It was a simple, gentle, but passionate kiss. They pushed away for air, and Sakura said, "I love you, too. But we need to talk. We're not okay yet. I'm still not ready to completely ready to forgive you. I'm not going to be able to let you in until it feels right. And I'm still confused."

She just sat there staring at him, trying to grasp the situation. And he didn't dare say anything. They just sat there when all of a sudden Sakura burst out in tears. Sasuke, being the most non-comforting person in Konoha, didn't know why the hell she was crying or even what to do. So he stood up, and put his arm around her. Speaking in the softest of voices, he calmly asked asked what was wrong. And she couldn't answer – she didn't know.

"I'm not sad, it's just that… I was always scared I would never find someone who felt the same way I did. Someone that loved me more than a friend, like Naruto. Naruto was always there when I needed him, and you would think that we would have stronger chemistry then we do, but we don't. I don't mind that; it's so great to feel loved and wanted, you know? Look, it's fine, just forget it… Everything's fine now anyway-"

She was interrupted by that smirk of his. And already she was getting used to him.

His lips met hers - starting a friendly kiss - but ending with a little bit more, something more… adrenalized. His tongue licked the bottom of her lip, asking for entrance. Of course she allowed it with a blush. Letting their tongues explore what they so long desired.

"Sasuke?"

"Hn?"

"…Promise me… Promise me that you'll never leave again, without telling me or giving me some kind of warning."

"Sakura, I'll never put you through something like that again"

"…Promise?"

He gave light laugh.

"Promise"

After a few months they started getting closer. Sakura would come to Sasuke for help. Sakura would help Sasuke understand people, and let him open up (to an extent). Sasuke, on the other hand, would help Sakura train harder, and realize that nobody's perfect. They seemed to work things out nicely.

_Wanna know who you are  
>Wanna know where to start<br>I wanna know what this means  
>Wanna know how you feel<br>Wanna know what is real  
>I wanna know everything, <em>_everything_


End file.
